Turning Bones

by Lee Martin

   ISBN 0-8032-3231-4

Unlike most memoirs that tell only the intimate tales of the author, Lee Martin extends his story, through historical fiction, to include generations of family preceding him.  Having traced his family through plats, deed records, and wills in the vaults of countless Midwestern courthouses, Martin imagines what their lives must have been like between census recordings.  He recreates scenarios in which his grandfathers and grandmothers met, young sweethearts whose fathers' own neighboring farms.  Despite how artfully Martin crafts these stories of courtship, none match that of his own:  A young man in the mid-1970s placing an order at Burger Chef comes up a penny short.  The girl at the register selflessly pulls one from her apron and assures him it's alright. 

Update from the Mailbag:

"Thanks so much for putting my book, Turning Bones, on your web site. And what a great site it is. Deb and I took a trip down memory lane last night as we navigated the various links.....I'm glad you liked the book; you might enjoy my new novel, The Bright Forever, set in a small Indiana town in 1972. No Burger Chefs, I'm afraid, but a courthouse square with a restaurant called the Coach Light and a tavern called the Top Hat Inn.

A quick update on the Burger Chef where Deb and I met. It became a Hardees and then went through various independent owners, the last calling it The Main Street Grille. It burned down a couple of years ago, and now I jokingly tell Deb that when the place you first met is no longer there, the marriage is null and void!"  --Lee

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